Real-time communication using inter-process communications

ABSTRACT

A system for providing communication over a network comprises a communication unit included in a user-interactive application, wherein the communication unit is adapted to establish real-time communications with a remote destination, and a media streaming unit adapted to run outside of a program that is executing the user-interactive application. The media streaming unit further adapted to stream real-time communication to and from the remote destination, wherein the communication unit is adapted to control the media streaming unit via an Inter-Process Communication (IPC) mechanism.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to commonly-assigned and concurrently filedU.S. application Ser. No. 11/611,046, entitled “INTERFACE-NEUTRALCOMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE,” the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description relates, in general, to real-time voice communicationand, specifically, to the architectures and implementation of real-timevoice communication techniques.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service has becomepopular with consumers, with more people and businesses choosing tomigrate to it and away from traditional Plain Old Telephone Service(POTS) every year. VoIP service is a telephone service that uses theInternet to make telephone calls, usually for a fixed fee and a very lowper-minute charge, even for some international calls. VoIP systems canbe either hardware-based, with special telephone sets or adapters forregular phones in communication with a network router, orsoftware-based, thereby allowing a user to employ a personal computer asa telephone.

Software-based VoIP phones are sometimes referred to as “softphones,”and they vary from service to service. Attention has recently beenfocused on providing softphone functionality in web browser plug-ins. Inanother example, a stand-alone program is used to support VoIPcommunication. This can make softphone functionality difficult fordevelopers of web pages and Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) toleverage, since a developer who desires to implement phone technology inan application will generally have to rely on the functionality providedby a web browser plug-in or other program with little flexibility forUser Interface (UI) concerns or application-specific concerns. Further,since there are different browser plug-ins available, not everyapplication will work with every browser. There is no solution currentlyon the market that gives developers control over real-time communicationfunctionality and can be nearly universally useable.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to systems, computer program products,and methods which give developers control over real-time communicationby providing techniques to implement communication functionality inend-user applications and also by providing programs that support mediastreaming and are controlled by the end-user applications.

In one example embodiment, developers can use libraries of ApplicationProgram Interlaces (APIs) to implement real-time communicationfunctionality in a user interactive application (e.g., a web page).However, traditional Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) web pages do notgenerally support real-time data transfer. Accordingly, a mediastreaming engine is provided that is separate from the web browser andis controlled by the application, and together, a robust, real-timecommunication framework is provided to end-users.

In one specific example, a user interactive application includesfunctional units that control set-up and termination of communicationsessions, control media streaming, and communicate to a separate mediastreaming engine through one or more Inter Process Communication (IPC)techniques. The separate media streaming engine receives commands fromthe user application and sends and receives the communication mediastream between the end-user and a remote destination.

In various embodiments of the invention, the user interactiveapplication includes much of the communication functionality.Accordingly, developers can be given freedom to implement thefunctionality in ways that suit individual applications. Someembodiments provide additional advantages. For instance, by implementingsome communication functionality in a media streaming engine that isseparate from the program that executes the application, the mediastreaming engine can be allowed to run even when the application and/orits program are exited. In this way, warm-up of the media streamingengine may not be needed before each communication session.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary system, adapted according toone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary system adapted according toone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary method adapted according toone embodiment of the invention for creating an application withreal-time communication capabilities:

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary method adapted according toone embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an exemplary computer system adaptedaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is an illustration of exemplary system 100, adapted according toone embodiment of the invention. System 100 includes communication unit103, which is included in user interactive application 102. Userinteractive application 102 (and by extension, communication unit 103)are executed by program 101.

User interactive application 102 can be any kind of interactiveapplication, including, for example, a World Wide Web page (“web page”),a RIA, or other kind of application. In these examples, a web page isusually based on HTML and may include interactive features providedthrough use of JAVA, available from Sun Microsystems, JAVASCRIPT™,available from Netscape, ACTIVE X™ controls, available from Microsoftcorporation, and the like. RIAs generally make use of graphics, audio,video, and/or animation and often include FLASH®-based content (FLASH®is available from Adobe Systems Incorporated). Program 101 can be anykind of program that is operable to execute user interactive application103. Examples include web browsers, such as INTERNET EXPLORER™ availablefrom Microsoft Corporation, and media players, such as FLASH PLAYER™(available as a browser plug-in and as a stand-alone program), availablefrom Adobe Systems Incorporated, and the like.

Communication unit 103 is operable to establish a communication sessionwith remote destination 104. Remote destination 104 may be anotheruser-interactive application, a software-based phone, a hardware-basedphone, a computer, and/or any kind of hardware/software combination thatis operable to send and receive communications from communication unit103. In this example, the communication session may include a VoIP call,a voice conference, a voice/video conference, a voice/video/dataconference, and/or the like. In one example, establishing acommunication session includes using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)signaling to establish a VoIP call. However, other examples may includeother protocols for establishing VoIP calls and, in fact, may use anytechnique now known or later developed to establish communicationsessions, VoIP or otherwise.

Communication unit 103 is also adapted to control media streaming unit105 through Inter-Process Communications (IPC). Examples of IPCmechanisms are described more fully below. In system 100, mediastreaming unit 105 is a process separate from communication unit 103 andoutside of program 101. Examples of controlling the media streaminginclude, for example, directing media streaming unit 105 to receiveaudio data coming from a microphone and to stream that data to aparticular network address and also directing media streaming unit 105to listen to a specific IP address and to deliver the received audioinformation to speakers.

In some examples, the components of system 100 are entirelysoftware-based; however embodiments of the invention are not so limited.In fact alternative embodiments may be based in hardware or acombination of hardware and software.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of exemplary system 200 adapted according toone embodiment of the invention. System 200 is an example architecturefor a real-time VoIP softphone that includes communication unit 103.Communication unit 103 and media streaming engine 210 togetherconstitute a VoIP softphone that is accessible to an end-user through auser interactive application.

In this example, communication unit 103 is deployed to the user in auser interactive application. In one embodiment, the user interactiveapplication can be a web page with a FLASH®-based banner advertisementtherein, and communication unit 103 is included in the banneradvertisement. When the user selects (e.g., clicks on) the banneradvertisement, the selection acts as a command for communication unit103 to establish a VoIP call to the advertiser. In such an example, thebanner advertisement performs at least two functions: 1) as a deploymentmechanism for Communication unit 103, and 2) as a User Interface (UI)for communication unit 103.

In the example of FIG. 2, communication unit 103 includes libraries201-204, which are collections of Application Programming Interfaces(APIs). The APIs are used by the developers of user interactiveapplications to provide the softphone functionality, as described inconcurrently-filed and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/611/046, entitled “INTERFACE-NEUTRAL COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE.”

In this examples SIP library 202 provides a basic implementation of SIPas defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in theirRequest For Comments 3261. (Some SIP embodiments may include updates andmodifications to SIP, as the invention is not limited to any particularSIP version, or to SIP at all.) The APIs therein support the building ofSIP signaling applications. This can be accomplished, for example, bydefining SIP messages as collections of header records ad multi-partbodies. In embodiments that use protocols other than SIP to establishcommunication sessions, library 202 may include, additionally oralternatively, APIs that facilitate the use of such other protocols.

Media library 203 supplies logic to control media streaming engine 210to send and receive real-time streams based on Realtime IransportProtocol (RTP), thereby establishing voice communication with remoteparties. In a basic implementation, it defines the endpoints tocommunicate by sending network address information to media streamingengine 210. In this example, media library 203 leverages the services ofNAT/Firewall library 214 (described further below) to negotiate NetworkAddress Translation (NAT) and Firewalls.

Transport library 204 includes APIs that support transportinginformation over one or more networks. For instance, protocols that “putthe signal on the wire” may include Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP),Transport Layer Security (TLS), and the like. To some extent, theprotocols supported by the APIs in library 204 are not specifically forVoIP applications, as many can be used in network communicationgenerally, such as over the Internet. In this example, signalingfunctions and media engine control functions use the APIs in transportlibrary 204 to communicate over the various networks.

In some embodiments, the APIs support the use of “sockets” for listeningand transmitting. For instance, some systems adapted for use withFLASH®-based applications expose an “XMLSocket” primitive that exposesto FLASH® a version of a socket. This allows a FLASH-based applicationto implement the SIP protocol in ACTIONSCRIPT™ and/or communicate withmedia streaming engine 210.

Soft-phone library 201 provides high-level APIs for use by developers.In contrast to libraries 202-204 that provide APIs on a verydetail-oriented and lower level of abstraction, soft-phone library 201provides APIs on a higher level of abstraction for ease of use bydevelopers who do not desire to work with protocol-level functions. Thisdistinction is further discussed in concurrently-filed and commonlyassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/611,046, entitled“INTERFACE-NEUTRAL COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE.”

Media streaming engine 210 sends and receives media streams in real-timebetween the user and the remote destination by, for example, sendingmicrophone data to a specified network address and listening to aspecified network address (the same or different) and delivering thereceived information to speakers.

In this example, media streaming engine 210 is not included in the userinteractive application with communication unit 103. Such an arrangementcan be used when the user interactive application is an HTML-based webpage that does not support real-time communication. Thus, in someembodiments, while communication unit 103 is deployed to the user whenthe user downloads the application, media streaming engine 210 may bedeployed out of band. In one example, when communication unit 103 isexecuted it checks for the presence of media streaming engine 210, andif the user's computer does not have media streaming engine 210, then aprocess is begun to download and run media streaming engine 210. In someembodiments, media streaming engine 210 is downloaded once and workswith any of a variety of communication units.

Furthers in some embodiments, media streaming engine 210 is a processthat runs in the background and has no UI. In fact, in some examples, itmay continue to run even when no communication unit is currentlyexecuting or may serve more than one executing communication unit.

A further difference between communication unit 103 and media streamingengine 210 is in the implementation of the two functional units. Sincecommunication unit 103 is usually deployed as part of a user interactiveapplication, it will usually be written or provided in a kind of codethat is generally used in user interactive applications. For example,when communication unit 103 is deployed in a FLASH®-based banneradvertisement, it is usually written by the developer usingACTIONSCRIPT™ (a scripting language for FLASH®-based applications) andcompiled into bytecode before being sent to an end-user.

By contrast, the code used to build media streaming engine 210 can oftenbe chosen without regard to the nature of the user interactiveapplication. In one example, media streaming engine 210 can be based inC, C#, C++, or the like. In fact, any language that can be used to builda media streaming engine can be used to build media streaming engine210.

In this example, media streaming engine 210 includes functional units211-215. Transport unit 211 is similar to transport library 204 in thatit supports sending and receiving information over one or more networksthrough use of appropriate protocols. In this embodiment, it all allowsUDP, TCP and TLS-based socket connections. Additionally oralternatively, it can support to JAVA™ sockets, .NET sockets, XMLSockets(for FLASH®-based applications), and/or the like. Various embodiment maysupport any transport protocol now known or later developed.

Media stack 212 provides digital signal processing on the media stream.For instance, in the present VoIP example, media stack 212 provides oneor more voice codecs. In other embodiments media stack 212 may alsoinclude one or more video codecs. Examples of types of codecs currentlyavailable for media streaming include ISAC™ from Global IP Sound, ahigh-quality codec, standard codecs (e.g., G.711 G.729 standards fromInternational Telecommunication Union), and open source codecs (e.g.,ILBC™ from Global IP Sound). Other types of speech signal processingfunctionality that may be included are Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC),noise suppression, Automatic Cain Control (AGC), and the like. When amedia stream is established, the endpoints oftentimes negotiate codecsto ensure that both are using the same codec. Codec negotiating can beperformed by functional units in communication engine 103 or in mediastreaming engine 210.

Security module 213 supports one or more security techniques. Forexample, security module 213 may provide a local Public-KeyInfrastructure (PKI). Security module 213 may also help to providesecure voice communication using TLS and/or other security protocols.Further, similar functionality can be included in communication unit 103to be employed in decrypting Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension(MIME) message bodies in SIP messages.

Certification database 215 is related to security module 213. In thisexample, certification database 213 stores digital certificates that canbe used to identify and/or verify one or more communicating parties.

NAT/Firewall module 214 provides for detection and traversal of variousNAT schemes and firewalls. In this example, NAT/Firewall module 214 canprovide implementations of Simple Traversal of UDP through NAT (STUN),Traversal Using Relay NAT (TURN) and Interactive ConnectivityEstablishment (ICE). In addition, especially under restrictive networkenvironments, NAT/Firewall module 214 can also be adapted to handletunneling through TCP/IP protocols.

In embodiments wherein media streaming engine 210 continues to run evenafter the user interactive application has exited, NAT/Firewall module214 can help in collecting IP bindings. The binding information can thenbe sent to communication engine 103 before the next call is set up. Thismay facilitate quicker call setups by reducing the number of bindingsthat are discovered at the time of call setup. Such a feature may alsohelp in ICE negotiation because at least a partial list of bindings isreadily available.

FIG. 2 shows communication unit 103 and media streaming engine 210communicating via an IPC. In some embodiments that use JAVA™ objects,Remote Method Invocation (RMI) may be the particular IPC that is used.However, various embodiments may use different IPCs depending upon thetype of user interactive application and the type of media streamingengine that are employed. For instance, in an embodiment that uses aFLASH®-based user interactive application, an appropriate IPC mayinclude XMLSocket (TCP/IP with XML/Text stream). The invention is notlimited by type of IPC, as any of a variety of IPC techniques can beused in some embodiments, including but not limited to, shared memoryschemes (e.g., LocalConnection in FLASH®), RTMP Protocol (TCP/IP withsupport for Remote Procedure Calls or RMI in FLASH®), BinarySocket(TCP/IP with binary data in FLASH®), pipes, mailslots, mutuallyexclusive (Mutex) program tags and the like.

FIG. 2 is an example of a VoIP softphone architecture according to oneembodiment of the invention. As mentioned above, various embodiments mayuse other techniques (e.g., voice/video conferencing) besides VoIP toprovide real-time, two way communication. Further embodiments that useVoIP are not necessarily limited to system 200. For example, varioussoftphone embodiments can use the H.323 standard rather than SIP andmay, therefore, use a different signaling functional unit.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of exemplary method 300 adapted according toone embodiment of the invention for creating an application withreal-time communication capabilities. Method 300 may be performed, forexample, by a developer of a user interactive application when he or sheis building the application. In step 301, a library of ApplicationProgramming Interfaces (APIs) is provided, the APIs includingfunctionality for establishing and terminating real-time communicationsessions and for controlling media streaming associated with thecommunication sessions.

In step 302, the library is implemented in a user interactiveapplication, the user interactive application including a User Interface(UI) adapted to allow an end-user to control the communication sessions.This can be performed, for example, when a developer writes functioncalls in the source code of the user interactive application that, ineffect, create a communication unit when the application is opened orexecuted by a user's computer.

In step 303, functionality is integrated in the user interactiveapplication that controls a media streaming engine outside of a programexecuting the user interactive application, the media streaming engineproviding the media streaming associated with the communicationsessions. In some embodiments, this includes implementing functionalunits in the user interactive application that communicate with a mediastreaming engine through IPC mechanisms.

In step 304, the user interactive application is made available fordownload by one or more end-users. For example, the developer may uploadthe application to a server computer on a network, where end-users canselect it, download it, and execute it.

Method 300 is exemplary, as other methods according to variousembodiments of the invention may add, omit, or change the order of stepsperformed. For example, steps 302 and 303 may be performed together,such as when the library of APIs provides the functionality to controlthe media streaming engine.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of exemplary method 400 adapted according toone embodiment of the invention. Method 400 may be performed, forexample, by an end-user operating a processor-based device (e.g.,personal computer, cell phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and thelike). In step 401, a user interactive application is received, forexample, by downloading from the Internet, Local Area Network (LAN) WideArea Network (WAN), or other network. In one example, the application isan HTML-based web page with a FLASH®-based banner advertisement therein,and the banner advertisement may be from the same or a different networkor server as the other application content. The user interactiveapplication includes a communication unit, such as, for example, unit103 of FIG. 1.

In step 402, the user-interactive application is executed, for example,by a web browser, media player, or other such program that is capable ofrunning interactive applications.

In step 403, the application receives user input indicating, a userdesire to establish a communication session. In one example, the userselects an interface feature (e.g., a button or the like) that instructsthe communication unit to establish the communication session.

In step 404, the communication unit checks if a media streaming engine(e.g., engine 210 of FIG. 2) is present. If not, the media streamingengine is loaded (step 405) onto the user's machine or another machinewherein communication between the communication unit and the mediastreaming engine can be accomplished. Steps 404 and 405 may be carriedout, in one example, by checking if the media streaming engine is loadedonto a user's machine, and if not, directing the user to a network sitewhere the media streaming engine can be downloaded.

In step 406, the communication unit checks if the media streaming engineis currently running. If not, execution of the media streaming enginebegins at step 407.

In step 408, the communication session is established between the userand a remote destination. In one example, the communication unit usesSIP signaling to establish a VoIP communication session. It is possiblein some embodiments that the communication unit itself can send the SIPsignals over the signaling network. It is also possible that thecommunication unit instructs the media streaming engine to send the SIPsignals. In either embodiment, the communication unit controls thesetting up and termination of the communication session. As mentionedabove, VoIP functionality is one kind of communication that can besupported by embodiments of the invention. Additionally oralternatively, other kinds of communication can be facilitated, such asvoice/video/data conferencing, and establishing of communicationsessions can be tailored for each type of session, for example, by usingprotocols appropriate for the session.

In step 409, the media streaming engine is controlled to stream contentof the communication session to and from the remote destination. Forexample, the media streaming engine and communication unit communicatevia RMI (or other IPC technique) in some embodiments. Streaming, inthese examples, typically involves sending the content in real-time tothe remote destination. It can also include receiving and presentingcontent from the remote destination in real-time.

In this way, an end-user can employ the user interactive application fortwo-way, real-time communication with a remote destination. Method 400is exemplary, as other embodiments may add, omit, or rearrange the orderof steps.

Embodiments of the invention may include one or more advantages overprior art systems. Prior art systems typically employ stand-aloneprograms (e.g., Skype, from Skype Technologies) to provide real-timecommunication or VoIP-dedicated plug-ins for browsers. However, it isdifficult for a developer of end-user application to leverage thefunctionality. This is in contrast to embodiments of the presentinvention that provide libraries of APIs for a developer to use inimplementing real-time communication functions in end-user applications.Once a developer can leverage real-time communication functionality,convenient and end-user-friendly applications and UIs can be developedthat encourage use of network-based real-time communication. Suchapplications and UIs can be developed using, for example, HTML, FLASH®,JAVASCRIP™, and the like. An example of such leveraging is in a customersupport web page that allows a customer to select a button that places acall to the customer service center. This can lead to increasedend-user/customer satisfaction.

In some embodiments, at least part of a VoIP softphone can be deployedto an end-user through, for example, a web page download. Embodiments ofthe invention allow for media streaming portions (that are not supportedby traditional web pages) to be deployed and executed outside of theend-user application, thereby facilitating the developer's use ofreal-time communication with traditional web pages.

Since the media streaming engine is separate from the program thatexecutes the application (e.g, a web browser), it is possible in someembodiments to keep the media streaming engine running even after theuser exits the application or the application-executing program. Thiscan allow the media streaming engine to be continuously connected toproxy/registrar servers. Advantages of such embodiments call includereducing call setup time, allowing incoming calls when a user has closeda browser, monitoring the network environment so that NAT and firewallinformation can be fresh (especially when a user moves betweennetworks), and avoiding performing NAT/firewall traversal each time anew communication session is established by retaining fresh NAT/firewallinformation.

When implemented via computer-executable instructions, various elementsof embodiments of the present invention are in essence the software codedefining the operations of such various elements. The executableinstructions or software code may be obtained from a readable medium(e.g., a hard drive media, optical media, EPROM, EEPROM, tape media,cartridge media, flash memory, ROM, memory stick, and/or the like). Infact, readable media can include any medium that can store or transferinformation.

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary computer system 500 adapted according toembodiments of the present invention. That is, computer system 500comprises an example system on which embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented (e.g., such as a computer used by adeveloper in creating an application or a computer used by an end userto access and execute an application). Central processing unit (CPU) 501is coupled to system bus 502. CPU 501 may be any general purpose CPU.However, the present invention is not restricted by the architecture ofCPU 501 as long as CPU 501 supports the inventive operations a describedherein. CPU 501 may execute the various logical instructions accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

Computer system 500 also preferably includes random access memory (RAM)503, which may be SRAM, DRAM, SDRAM, or the like. Computer system 500preferably includes read-only memory (ROM) 504 which may be PROM, EPROM,EEPROM, or the like. RAM 503 and ROM 504 hold user and system data andprograms, including, for example, libraries that support real-time voicecommunication functionality and applications that include suchlibraries.

Computer system 500 also preferably includes input/output (I/O) adapter505, communications adapter 511, user interface adapter 508, and displayadapter 509. I/O adapter 505, user interface adapter 508, and/orcommunications adapter 511 may, in certain embodiments, enable a user tointeract with computer system 500 in order to input information, such asvoice and video data, as with microphone 514 and a camera (not shown).In addition, it may allow for the output of data, as with speakers 515.

I/O adapter 505 preferably connects to storage device(s) 506, such asone or more of hard drive, compact disc (CD) drive, floppy disk drive,tape drive, etc. to computer system 500. The storage devices may beutilized when RAM 503 is insufficient for the memory requirementsassociated with storing data for applications. Communications adapter511 is preferably adapted to couple computer system 500 to network 512(for example, the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), cellularnetwork, and the like). User interface adapter 508 couples user inputdevices, such as keyboard 513, pointing device 507, and microphone 514and/or output devices, such as speaker(s) 515 to computer system 500.Display adapter 509 is driven by CPU 501 to control the display ondisplay device 510 to, for example, display the user interface (such asin an end-user application) of embodiments of the present invention.

It shall be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to thearchitecture of system 500. For example, any suitable processor-baseddevice may be utilized, including without limitation personal computers,laptop computers, handheld computing devices, computer workstations, andmulti-processor servers. Moreover, embodiments of the present inventionmay be implemented on application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)or very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. In fact, persons ofordinary skill in the art may utilize any number of suitable structurescapable of executing logical operations according to the embodiments ofthe present invention.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

1. A system for providing communication over a network, said systemcomprising: a communication unit included in a user-interactiveapplication, the interactive application comprising a web page thatprovides interactive features, wherein said communication unit isadapted to establish real-time communications with a remote destination;and a media streaming unit adapted to run on a computer executing saiduser-interactive application, wherein said media streaming unit isoutside of a web browser that is executing said user-interactiveapplication on said computer, said media streaming unit further adaptedto stream real-time communication to and from said remote destinationover the network to provide a two-way voice, voice/video, orvoice/video/data conference, wherein said communication unit is adaptedto control establishing the real time communications through said mediastreaming unit via an Inter-Process Communication (IPC) mechanism,wherein the communication unit initiates establishing the real timecommunications in response to a selection of a feature of theinteractive features, the selection instructing the communication unitto establish a communication session.
 2. The system of claim 1 whereinsaid IPC mechanism is selected from the list consisting of: a TransportControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) socket; shared memory; apipe; a mailslot; and a mutually exclusive (Mutex) program tag.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein said communication unit comprises: a signalinglibrary of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for providingtelephone signaling functionality; and a control library of APIs forproviding control over said media streaming unit.
 4. The system of claim1 wherein said media streaming unit comprises: a transport library ofApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs) for providing socketconnections to said remote destination; a firewall library of APIs forproviding detection and traversal of firewalls and Network AddressTranslation (NAT) systems; a media library of APIs for providing voicesignal processing functionality; and a security library of APIs forproviding encrypting and decrypting the media stream between said systemand said remote destination.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said userinteractive application comprises a Hypertext Markup Language(HTML)-based Internet application.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein saidcommunication unit and said media streaming unit together provide VoiceOver IP (VoIP) functionality.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein saidcommunication unit is adapted to receive user input through a UserInterface (UI) in said user-interactive application.
 8. A method forsupporting two-way communication, said method comprising: providing alibrary of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), said APIsincluding functionality for establishing and terminating real-timecommunication sessions and for controlling media streaming associatedwith said communication sessions; implementing said library in a userinteractive application, said user interactive application including aUser Interface (UI) adapted to allow an end-user to control saidcommunication sessions; and integrating functionality in said userinteractive application that controls a media streaming engine on acomputer executing said user-interactive application, wherein said mediastreaming engine is outside of a program executing said user interactiveapplication on said computer, said media streaming engine providing saidmedia streaming associated with said communication sessions over anetwork to provide two-way voice, voice/video, or voice/video/dataconferencing.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: making saiduser interactive application available for download by one or moreend-users.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein said implementing saidlibrary comprises: writing function calls in one or more source filesthat make up said user interactive application, said function callsproviding said control over said media streaming engine.
 11. The methodof claim 8 wherein said user interactive application is operable tocontrol the establishing and terminating of Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) calls, and wherein said media streaming engine is operable tostream voice data in said communications sessions.
 12. The method ofclaim 8 wherein said library of APIs comprises: a signaling library ofAPIs for providing Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signalingfunctionality; and a control library of APIs for providing control oversaid media streaming engine.
 13. A non-transitory computer readablemedium having computer program logic recorded thereon, said computerlogic comprising: code, when executed by a computer, controlling: thesetting-up and terminating of real-time communication sessions; and thesending and receiving of media streams in said communication sessions,including inter-process communication between a user interactiveapplication and a media streaming engine that is separate from a programexecuting said user interactive application on said computer and thatsends and receives said media streams over a network to provide two-wayvoice, voice/video, or voice/video/data conferencing; code, whenexecuted by a computer, receiving user input commands regarding saidreal-time communication sessions; and code, when executed by saidcomputer, checks for a presence of the media streaming engine on saidcomputer, and, if said computer does not have the media streamingengine, downloads and runs the media streaming engine on said computer.14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 further comprising: code,when executed by a computer, verifying that a media streaming engine isnot running; and code, when executed by a computer, for beginning theexecution of said media streaming engine in response to said verifying.15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 further comprising: code,when executed by a computer, receiving commands through saidinterprocess communication; code, when executed by a computer, streamingmedia to a remote destination in response to receiving said commands.16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein said controllingthe setting-up and terminating of real-time communication sessions isoperable to establish a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call.
 17. Amethod for providing two-way communication, said method comprising:receiving a user interactive application, said user interactiveapplication including computer-executable code using a plurality ofApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs) for providing functionalityfor establishing and terminating real-time communication sessions andfor controlling media streaming associated with said communicationsessions; executing said user interactive application on a computer; andexecuting a software-based media streaming engine that is operable toprovide said media streaming over a network to provide two-way voice,voice/video, or voice/video/data conferencing and to receive and actupon control commands from said user interactive application regardingsaid media streaming, wherein said media streaming engine is on saidcomputer and separate from a program used to execute said userinteractive application.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:establishing a communication session with a remote destination; andcontrolling said media streaming engine during said communicationsession, thereby streaming communication content to and from said remotedestination.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein said communicationsession is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call.
 20. The method ofclaim 17 further comprising: discovering that said media streamingengine is not present on an end-user's machine; and receiving said mediastreaming engine in response to said discovering.
 21. The method ofclaim 17 further comprising: discovering that said media streamingengine is not currently executing on an end user's machine; andperforming said executing said media streaming engine in response tosaid discovering.